I feel so 1970’s. All I need now is a prawn cocktail appetiser and a black forest gateau and I’ll have the chicest dinner party in Surbiton. Surfing the interwebs (not so 1970’s, after all), I find I am supposed to serve it with wide buttered noodles rather than the rice I have planned, oh well.

I’ve used a Beef Stroganoff recipe from Good Housekeeping here and I chose it because it has no paprika in it, which is a seemingly contentious issue if the viewers of Masterchef Australia are to be believed. Anyway, correct or not, I don’t want paprika in my stroganoff. This is a quick and easy recipe, but I would suggest having all your ingredients to hand before you start. To serve 2:

350g rump steak, in pieces 5cm or so long, sliced as thinly as possible.

20g unsalted butter

half an onion, thinly sliced

150g sliced button mushrooms

20 ml brandy

1/2 tsp dijon mustard

100ml creme fraiche

50 ml double cream

1 tbsp chopped flat leaf parsley

In a heavy based pan, melt down the butter over a low heat and put in the onions and a pinch of salt. Cook the onions for ten or so minutes, stirring occasionally, until they are soft and golden. Add your sliced mushrooms and cook them with the onions for a few minutes until they are softened too. Remove from the pan and turn up the heat slightly. Add your steak to the pan, and brown quickly, and then add your brandy and cook until the sauce starts to reduce and the alcohol is cooked away.

Return the onions and mushrooms to the pan and turn the heat right back down again. Add the mustard, the cream and the creme fraiche and stir in, cooking until the sauce is hot and then stir through the chopped parsley. Get it while it’s hot.